Tokyo: The life of a literary giant begins with home self-defense!

Chapter 19 Two Arrogant and Conceited People

In the warm inner room, with a cup of mellow black coffee at hand, although Longchuan Che felt that he had forgotten something, he still picked up the bound book.

The girl's original manuscript paper was the same as Ryukawa Tetsu's, with 400 words per page, but she used a pencil instead of a pen.

"Only Cats Know"

Longchuan Che took a quick glance and then frowned.

"Mystery novel?"

Ryuukawa Toru, who was planning to take a look at the quality of this year's New Wave Award winners, was stunned. He originally thought it was another pure literary reading, but it turned out to be a popular literature mystery novel.

Pure literature focuses more on the in-depth exploration of characters' psychology and the artistry of language, while popular literature pursues tense and exciting plots and uses language that is relatively easy to understand.

The former is more attractive to literature lovers, while the latter is popular literature that everyone can read.

"Yes."

The girl took out a pocket watch from her pocket to check the time, then urged:
"Please hurry up."

Long Chuan suddenly felt that every word the girl said in front of him made him a little unhappy, so he read the book "Only Cats Know" with a critical eye.

Then he fell silent.

"My brother Yuutarou Niki and I rented the second floor of Hakozaki Hospital. This is a private hospital with a strange atmosphere. From the family of Director Hakozaki to the hospitalized patients and their families, they all seem to have secrets that cannot be told."

"Criminal incidents occurred one after another: the director's mother was locked in the house; the rude inpatient suddenly left without saying goodbye; finally, even the director's daughter's favorite black cat disappeared..."

It is not a social mystery novel that focuses on describing and satirizing social phenomena.

The novel is mainly about solving puzzles and strictly adheres to the Knox Fairness Code. It emphasizes that detective novels should use scientific logical reasoning and be accompanied by some wild imagination.

"It's awesome."

Longchuan Che quietly put down the manuscript.

This mystery novel is very exciting. It sweeps away the gloomy and mysterious style of Japanese detective novels and replaces it with a fresh and simple style.

The novel continues the delicate writing style of the previous book "The Woman in the Purple Dress", using meticulous thinking to solve a murder case that only a cat can know.

Natsuko Imamura's writing skills are amazing.

But what really made him feel that the other party was excellent was that he was very proficient in both literary techniques.

A new-wave writer of pure literature who has written some very exciting orthodox detective novels.

Although there have been cases in the past where pure literature authors have turned to detective novels, Ryuukawa Tetsu had a hunch that "What the Cat Knows" would be a big hit.

The reasoning technique is very delicate and pays attention to the description of details. Many foreshadowings are buried in the tense plot, which is thrilling step by step. Through a strange cat, the truth of the murder is discovered.

"It's awesome."

Ryukawa Toru repeated this evaluation again and turned to look at Imamura Natsuko.

The girl had a serene expression, and each of her fingertips was wrapped in a bandage.

The two wonderful novels I read, "The Woman in the Purple Dress" and "The Cat Knows", both flowed from those slender fingertips.

"Is Longchuan a hand control student?"

Matsueda Muko smiled and said "great" and then waved it in front of Longchuan Tetsu, who was staring at the girl's hand.

She had seen many boys who were fascinated by Xia Zi since she was a child, but Longchuan Tetsu was the first one who dared to stare at her so directly.

"Sorry." Feeling a little rude, Longchuan Che handed the manuscript back.

"Then I'll go submit my manuscript first. Xia Zi, you guys wait here for me."

Matsueda Muko smiled at Longchuan Che, took the manuscript, sealed it back into the envelope, and ran across the street again.

The girl was brisk and lively, and when she walked and jumped she looked like a black butterfly flying among the snowflakes.

Longchuan Che was still a little dazed as he kept looking at the pine branches and leaves going away.

This manuscript shocked him greatly, not because of the quality of the work itself, but because the girl deftly jumped back and forth between the two types of novels, giving him the illusion that "there are countless literary masters and heroes in the world."

"Shocked?"

Natsuko Imamura looked at the boy in front of her in a daze and pursed her lips slightly.

At her age, every time she writes something, she often receives some contemptuous looks.

One of them was Longchuan Che's refusal to show her the manuscript and his expression that said you might not understand.

Being looked down upon and then slapping others in the face with her work is what Natsuko Imamura likes most.

"Fortunately."

Ryukawa Toru picked up a sugar cube and put it into the coffee cup.

Perhaps it was because the girl had been using a familiar tone since they met, Longchuan Tetsu also asked abruptly:
"Why do you want to write a mystery novel?"

It is generally acknowledged that the works of literati are too high-brow for the masses and that pure literary works that criticize society and reflect reality are superior to popular literature.

The other party has already won the 'Shincho Award', the highest award for new pure literature, and now he is writing a mystery novel, which seems to be a bit of a waste of time in Longchuan Tetsu's opinion.

"What about this?"

The girl rubbed it lightly with two fingers.

"I can tell you when we get to know each other better."

Natsuko Imamura blinked at Toru Ryukawa, and the glass next to them reflected the cleverness and cunningness in the corners of her eyes. Toru Ryukawa suddenly felt that his aesthetic taste of only liking big things seemed to be slightly relaxed.

"You probably don't need much advice from other authors."

Longchuan Che smiled and prepared to get up and leave. It was already very late, and the other party's words just now were probably just an excuse to get him to stay and see the work.

It is not an exaggeration to call her a genius. Geniuses are always conceited and will not tolerate others telling them what to do.

“I love that first sentence.”

The girl suddenly called out to Longchuan Che.

"After passing through the long county tunnel, you will reach the snow country. The background color of the night turned white, and the train stopped next to the signal station." The girl accurately said the first sentence of the work that Longchuan Che had never shown her. Longchuan Che was stunned and turned to look at her.

Did you just take out the manuscript and move to the main text section?
While he was thinking this, the girl continued:
"A very accurate description, 'the background of the night turns white', is a sight that can only be seen on a snowy night."

The girl looked out the window. It was dark night.

When many people talk about a snowy night, they think of the dark night, white snow, and the clear distinction between the sky and the earth.

But this is not true, it is just a literary imagination.

In the vast darkness of the night, darkness covers everything, and people can't actually see the snow. Probably only on the night of the 15th day of the lunar calendar, when the moonlight is the brightest, can there be a strong contrast between black and white.

At this time, looking at the distant mountains, it was pitch black.

The background color of the night turned white because the lights of the train shone on the snow.

Before he could speak, the lights reflected each other, corresponding to the train behind him stopping next to the signal post.

The girl chewed it twice like a gourmet, and then continued:

"If your manuscript is of this quality throughout, then your article is also very good."

Longchuan Che had given the girl a very good evaluation before, and at this time the other party gave him a very good evaluation based on the first sentence of Longchuan Che's opening text.

The boy raised his eyebrows.

He was wearing dark youth clothes at this time, standing there like a gun.

"It's not bad, but once the article is published, all the scholars in the world will bow down to it."

Ryukawa Toru raised his chin in a slightly arrogant arc, and Imamura Natsuko rubbed her nose bridge with a headache.

"You are such an arrogant guy."

“I am confident in my work.”

“How confident are you?”

The boy's lips moved slightly, and Natsuko Imamura's hand, which was about to be put down, froze there.

Three or five minutes later, the door of the cafe was pushed open again.

The crisp sound of the bell came in along with the wind and snow. Song Zhimuzi, who pushed the door open with a loud noise, smiled apologetically to everyone around him.

"Where's Longchuan-kun?"

As soon as Songzhi Muzi came back, she looked around at the seat where Longchuan Tetsu had sat.

"This is only the second time you've met, Muzi." Natsuko Imura rubbed her temples. The suffix "jun" is only used by people who are familiar with each other.

The girl with short hair stuck out her tongue and said angrily.

"It was alright last time, but he ran away again this time."

Ryukawa Toru never agreed to wait for her here from the beginning to the end, but her friend's personality has always been so difficult to deal with, so Imamura Natsuko sighed helplessly.

“Has the stuff been sent out?”

“It has been sent.”

"Your name?"

"It's my name."

Although it seemed unbelievable no matter how many times he asked it, Songzhi Muzi still asked again.

"Are you really going to use my identity to participate in the Edogawa Ranpo Award?"

The Edogawa Ranpo Award, established in 1954 to celebrate the 60th birthday of Japanese mystery novel master Edogawa Ranpo, is the highest honor in Japanese mystery novels.

"I'm not going to participate, I'm going to win the award." Natsuko Imamura responded easily.

"You are so arrogant to take me, a sports student with special talents, to win a novel award, Xia Zi."

The girl looked quiet and gentle, but Songzhi Muzi, who grew up with her, knew that she was almost arrogant when writing and talking about things.

Her father who worked in the Ministry of Education once commented on her that "in the past century, women have taken the lead in the literary world."

"Arrogant? The guy you like is much more arrogant than me."

"What's wrong with him?" Song Muzhizi asked, thinking of the boy of the same age who liked to add a lot of sugar cubes to his coffee.

Natsuko Imamura closed the book "Remembrance of Things Past" and said:
"I just asked him if he still had confidence in his work after reading my book."

The girl looked at her friend with a strange expression.

"Guess what he said?"

"How to say?"

Natsuko Imamura looked out the window, toward the end of the street.

With the little light coming through the windows.

The lights extended a straight corridor there.

There, the boy who had just left was explaining something to a beautiful woman.

Should he explain why he had left her alone, or why he came back late?
Natsuko Imamura doesn’t know.

But the boy who just stood in front of her, the one who answered her with Buddhist Zen words, Ryuukawa Tetsu.

It made her feel very interesting.

"He said in 21st century Japan."

Natsuko Imamura felt that the beautiful woman on the street corner looked familiar. She repeated the boy's words while thinking.

"Whenever I meet a Buddha, I will kill the Buddha. When I meet an ancestor, I will kill the ancestor. I am the only one who is supreme in heaven and on earth."

(End of this chapter)